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Lapdancer kidnappers 'is a fantasy' court hears

A CLAIM by a nightclub boss that he was kidnapped by Hampshire lapdancers is nothing more than a ''fantasy'', a jury has been told.

Curtis Woodman, 34, claims he was bundled into a BMW, beaten up and forced to transfer £4,800 into a bank account during a ''terrifying'' two-hour ordeal.

Mr Woodman had refused to pay the women and their manager more than £42,000 for work carried out at his pop-up nightclub during the Cheltenham Festival in March 2012.

The businessman claims the women are not entitled to the money as they ''insisted'' on stripping off despite agreeing to wear nipple tassels and bikinis at all times.

Bristol Crown Court heard £42,000 of the disputed cash related to one customer, named only as Steve, who spent six hours with lapdancers in the Embassy Club.

In a closing speech on behalf of manager Charlotte Devaney, 34, Garry Green pointed out Mr Woodman had only paid the women £4,800 during the incident, on September 3 2012.

''Steve has been reading the coverage and he is not a happy man,'' Mr Green said.

''He's saying '£5,000 for being kidnapped by four girls? I paid over £40,000 to listen to 'if you think I'm sexy and you want my body come on sugar tell me so' and other badly sung Rod Stewart renditions'.

''For Steve and for many other men, the idea of being kidnapped by lapdancers is pure fantasy and their idea of heaven.

''The Crown's case is a fantasy.”

The jury previously heard the pop-up nightclub in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, was closed on its third night by authorities due to breaching its licence.

Officers stormed the premises and shut it down - with Mr Woodman and Mr Jouni quickly ''vanishing'', the court was told.

Charlotte Devaney, from London, who recruited around 60 women to work at the club, said 19 were left unpaid.

She spent months chasing Mr Woodman for payment before deciding to go and meet him on September 3 2012 to demand answers.

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